Before the Veil
by SisterGrimmErin
Summary: They were both taught that being a Black meant blood and fire, but eventually it meant ashes.


**Before the Veil**

**By Sister Grimm Erin**

**A Harry Potter Fanfiction**

_Warning: Remember that thing Erin likes to do where she ruins beloved children's series? This involves that thing. Oh, and I'm not Rowling; I'm just having fun._

#01 – Ring

The ring with the Black crest is the first to go into the trash.

#02 – Hero

She's never believed in heroes, so seeing worship for Voldemort in her eyes sickens him to his stomach.

#03 – Memory

If he tried to hate her, he only hated himself. If he admitted he loved her, he could never win. _(But if he denied her, he could hear the ghost of a beautiful girl's cruel laughter echoing in his ears forever and ever.)_

#04 – Box

He could judge her, but he never could put her in a box like he could everyone else.

#05 – Run

The one thing nobody ever accused Sirius Black of being was a coward, but sometimes all he does is run.

#06 – Hurricane

She never spoke of him much, but when she sees his hollow, black eyes staring into hers from an Azkaban cell, she gives him a ghost of a smile, and he is reminded of the hurricane that once was beautiful, cunning Bellatrix Black.

#07 – Wings

He escapes on a hippogriff, and it occurs to him during the feeling of the flight that there was a girl, now a woman, who once wished for wings rather than cages.

#08 – Cold

He has never thought of her as cold; for him, Bellatrix Black was always a fire.

#09 – Red

He sees the sheets the next morning, and cannot help but feel a bit of an accomplishment that for once, he was the one to make her bleed.

#10 – Drink

James was his drinking partner, but Bellatrix was the reason he indulged.

#11 – Midnight

The clock tolls midnight on her wedding day, and he thinks of Muggle fairy tales about girls turning back into who they really were at this hour.

#12 – Temptation

For Bellatrix, they were temptation, but for him, they were an addiction.

#13 – View

The family once owned castles, and as children, they used to play in the old abandoned buildings, admiring the view from the towers and not caring if they fell.

#14 – Music

He used to blare Muggle music from his speakers loud enough for the neighbors to hear, specifically to make her angry.

#15 – Silk

She is meant for silk sheets rather than black cotton, he thinks as he draws her naked, sleeping form, but of course, Bellatrix never did know she was beautiful.

#16 – Cover

She went with him to a Muggle party once, just to see what the fuss was about, and he found her drunker than it should be possible to be and kissing a boy, and the marks on her arms as he pulled her away left her wearing covered, long sleeves for a week afterwards.

#17 – Promise

"I'll kill you, Sirius Black," she hissed at him when she found Rodolphus weeping in the corridor. "I swear I will."

#18 – Dream

He never stopped dreaming of her in Azkaban, because she had never made him feel in a way simple enough for the dementors to steal.

#19 – Candle

His anger against her precision was like a candle against a blizzard.

#20 – Talent

People thought him talented at Hogwarts, but she taught him most of what he already knew.

#21 – Silence

She hates his chatter, but as he falls through the veil, she cannot find it in her to wish for his everlasting silence.

#22 – Journey

Her descent into madness was less a journey than it was a step back over a cliff.

#23 – Fire

They were taught that being a Black meant blood and fire, but eventually it meant ashes.

#24 – Strength

One thing they did give each other was strength.

#25 – Mask

There was a masquerade ball once, but they never could fool each other.

#26 – Ice

She struck fear into the hearts of men with her smile, but Sirius was the one that was truly terrifying.

#27 – Fall

She never would have fallen for him, but there was a time when he would have gone to hell and back for her.

#28 – Forgotten

There was one thing they never could do to each other: forget.

#29 – Dance

"Don't dance around, Sirius. Get to the point." "You never did learn the steps, Bella."

#30 – Body

There is nothing left to bury, and she is not sorry about that much.

#31 – Sacred

Neither of them will ever be saints.

#32 – Farewells

"Goodbye, Bellatrix." "Don't lie. You'll see me again." "But not like this."

#33 – World

He hates how Voldemort has become her entire world, but what is the point of saying that he wishes he was still part of it?

#34 – Formal

All formalities were swept under the rug when they were alone.

#35 – Fever

She makes him hot and cold when she kisses him feverishly, but he loves the implication that she might be eager for him.

#36 – Laugh

He loves her laugh, because it is never feigned.

#37 – Lies

The one thing Bellatrix is not is a liar.

#38 – Forever

Forever is a long way to walk, he thinks as he pulls his cloak about him as he leaves the house.

#39 – Overwhelmed

They did always overwhelm anyone but each other.

#40 – Whisper

"They'll never believe you, you know." "I know." "So why are you trying?"

#41 – Wait

Impatience: a trademark of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

#42 – Talk

James speaks often of bright, flashy Lily Evans, but Sirius never can talk about the girl he loves who loves Death.

#43 – Search

He searches for Harry, but he never did find himself.

#44 – Hope

Nothing worth having was ever gotten by hope alone, she always said.

#45 – Eclipse

He will always be eclipsed by her values, and she will always be eclipsed by his duty.

#46 – Gravity

The push and pull of gravity on his body reminds him of being pinned beneath her.

#47 – Highway  
>He used to take her on motorcycle rides along ancient Roman roads, and the silence was content.<p>

#48 – Unknown

If being family made it wrong, how could that compare to everything else that was wrong?

#49 – Lock

The lock clicks open on his cell, and she only stares without surprise, as though she knew he could do it all along.

#50 – Breathe

"Did you love me?" "Only when I had to breathe."


End file.
